Published: Saturday, January 29, 2011, 5:00 AM
By Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune
To remain vital, festivals require fresh blood. For 2011, the New Orleans Jazz Fest has administered itself a full-on transfusion.
Matthew Hinton / The Times-Picayune
They're back: Bon Jovi, seen here on the Acura Stage at the 2009 Jazz Fest, return to the festival this spring.
It looks to be a fresh, dynamic fest, and judging by the chatter at nola.com and elsewhere, lots of other people think so, too. Ever since AEG Live, the folks who own the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the O2 arena in London and who promote countless concerts annually, signed on as a co-producer before the '05 Jazz Fest, new and famous faces have popped up at the Fair Grounds.
For this year, more than ever before, this makes it feel like two festivals in one: The traditional New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, with its Gospel Tent, Fais Do-Do Stage and cochon de lait po-boys, merged with a smart, contemporary music festival. The former is the specialty of longtime Jazz Fest producer Quint Davis and his Festival Productions Inc.-New Orleans. The latter is what AEG does.
Exhibit A: Arcade Fire. The Canadian ensemble has graduated to arena-headlining status the old-fashioned way: By making compelling music that is very much its own, yet not so unusual that it can't attract a mass audience. Arcade Fire has not graced a New Orleans stage since stepping up to the big leagues. Jazz Fest got 'em.
Similarly, the roster includes Wilco, the Decemberists, the Strokes, Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers. On the R&B side, there's Lauryn Hill -- or "Ms. Lauryn Hill," as she insists on being billed -- and John Legend's collaboration with the Roots.
All hail from the post-Santana, post-Van Morrison, post-Bonnie Raitt generation -- not that there's anything wrong with having a couple of old-school Jazz Fest veterans as well. This year, that translates to Jimmy Buffett -- here's wishing the devoted Saints fan and friend of the Crescent City a speedy recovery after his nasty tumble in Australia this week -- and Frankie Beverly and Maze.
The hard-traveled Gregg Allman is back, but with a twist: He's touring in support of his T Bone Burnett-produced solo blues album. Robert Plant certainly qualifies as "grizzled," but in recent years he's reinvented himself as a singer of spooky Americana rock. He turned down a bazillion dollars to front a reunited Led Zeppelin in order to follow this new path, which speaks to his level of commitment.
And in 2010, Cyndi Lauper released "Memphis Blues." Billboard recently named it the best-selling blues album of the year; it is up for a Grammy Award as best traditional blues album. Allen Toussaint guests on this collection of blues standards from the catalogs of Robert Johnson, Albert King, Louis Jordan and Muddy Waters. Presumably, she'll be doing her blues set at Jazz Fest.
Some observers found Kenny G, the king of elevator jazz, to be a curious Jazz Fest choice. But when he played the Essence Music Festival in the late '90s -- one of only three or so white acts to ever appear on the main stage -- he tore it up. He started out at the top of the plaza level seats opposite the stage. Equipped with a wireless microphone, he blew his sax down the stairs and across the entire floor of the Superdome. People fell out.
Of all the big visiting acts on this year, the only one I question is the return of Bon Jovi.
Jon Bon Jovi seems like a decent guy. He's largely avoided the tabloid exploits on which his lead guitarist has occasionally embarked. His charitable efforts are admirable; after Katrina, he and his cohorts financed 28 new homes in Houma. He recently got himself appointed to a presidential commission.
Bon Jovi's music is straight-up, by-the-books arena rock designed to reach the widest audience possible. I'll cop to cranking "Livin' on a Prayer" in the car. Bon Jovi is suited for car stereos in a way that, say, the Decemberists aren't.
Booking Bon Jovi at Jazz Fest in 2009 was a novelty. Fine. They got to play New Orleans for the first time in more than a decade, bringing a bunch of folks to Jazz Fest who ordinarily wouldn't go. There were some ugly moments when impatient fans booed Dr. John, the preceding act -- even though Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan was himself watching the good doctor from the side of the Acura Stage -- but everyone survived. Let's move on.
And yet here is Bon Jovi again.
Their enduring popularity is beyond question. According to Rolling Stone, BJ notched the highest-grossing tour of 2010, raking in $108 million on 51 shows -- an average of $2 million per show.
Makes you wonder what Jazz Fest is paying them.
Certain bands, like Bon Jovi, are so big that they tend to dominate the discussion. And when that band is something of a stretch for Jazz Fest to book in the first place, it seems like a break between appearances is warranted. I wouldn't expect to see Pearl Jam again for a few years, even though their '10 set was an absolute thriller.
Jeff Beck is another name of note who boomeranged back to the festival this year. I've heard nothing but raves for his set last year. Much to my regret, I was elsewhere on the Fair Grounds while he reportedly offered a master's class on electric guitar soloing. Given that, I can understand why he was invited back so soon.
Bon Jovi's set was, by contrast, OK. Bon Jovi, the singer, was gracious, saying some nice things about New Orleans. Bon Jovi, the band, reproduced (most of) its hits, but quit 10 minutes early.
Maybe the band got its "standard" set out of the way in 2009 and is planning something special for the return.
To come back to the Fair Grounds and recite essentially the same set again would be an exceedingly lame moment in a festival that promises to be anything but.
No comments:
Post a Comment